Stay Awhile
by only-because3
Summary: He knows he shouldn't, that he had caused the problems between the three with his indecisiveness and as Haley often told him, his 'hero complex'. BL
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! So I apologize in advanced for any mistakes. It's kidna late when I'm posting this. I knwo this seems extremely unfinished but I wanted to get this posted. This will prolyl turn into a 2, maybe a 3 parter. I know i shoudl be workign on Always Love, but I've been having some writers block, and what's a great way of getting rid of that: Wiriting somethign else lol. So this idea has been bounching ahead in my head for a LOOOOONNNNNGGGG time now. With the help of a clip fomn 4x17 I finally got enough motive to write this and finalyl figured out how to word it. I STRONGLY based this off of 'Stay Awhile' by Tina TurnerGREAT song. Umm... I think that's it. I should get more up by tommorw. Enjoy!

When they were dating, she always found herself turning to him for comfort. When the blues started calling, she ran to him. When ever her light seemed to fade she ran to him. When ever the real world just got a little too much to bear, she went to him. Of course these moments were few and far in-between for many reasons. She didn't need saving and it seemed that when she did, a curly blonde friend of hers was in his arms.

She didn't know who she was fooling, they weren't together anymore. The promises they made during the course of their relationship didn't apply to them anymore. He sure as hell wasn't going to hold them to her and she wasn't going to do that to him. He had moved on, found himself someone else but at that moment she was alone. She just needed a friend and with Peyton spending the weekend with her dad, Naley being busy with all their drama, Rachel was gone, and Mouth was MIA.

So, somehow she wound up on his doorstep in a pair of pajama pants and a tank top, goose bumps forming on her arms. She was so scared of sleeping alone in Rachel's big house after everything that had just happened with Derek; that was why Peyton had gone with her dad. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him lunging towards her. So, she left the house with nothing but her keys, the thought of a jacket escaping her mind completely.

She realized now, as she was standing on her porch how stupid that had been. It had started raining about half way there and the wind was blowing tiny raindrops closer and closer to her. She didn't even bother knocking, she was far too scared to wait for him to get his lazy ass up and open the door for her.

The room was dark and it appeared unchanged. She wondered if the bottom drawer still held some of her clothes, or if they had been pushed to the back of his closet to make room for Peyton's. She knew that she had left at least two outfits over here and she had never gotten them back. She shook her head of these thoughts, quietly slipping out of her flip flops. He was in the middle which meant that she could easily slip in on either side. She'd never been able to sleep on the left side though, being so close to the door gave her some sort of comfort. Like if her feelings for him ever got too much to bear, she could leave.

She set her keys down on the bedside table before pulling back the blankets and trying to get into the bed without causing too much movement. She realized just how ludicrous it was to slip into bed with her ex boyfriend while he was sleeping. He was going to find her crazy. Brooke shrugged that thought off though. He knew how crazy she was, he had dated her after all.

She stayed close to the edge, trying to fall to sleep with out waking the slumbering blonde. "Brooke?" Obviously, she had failed.

She rolled over and looked into the sleepy blue eyes she loved. "Hey." She whispered softly. "I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing Derek and-" She didn't need to say more, his nod giving her permission to stop. He knew it was hard on Brooke, going through that horrible night with Peyton.

"I understand." He scooted over giving her more room on the bed. "You're always welcome here Brooke." In his head, he questioned if he should tell her this. He had told this to Peyton when he and Brooke were dating so why shouldn't he be able to tell Brooke the same thing? He knows he shouldn't, that he had caused the problems between the three with his indecisiveness and as Haley often told him, his 'hero complex'.

"I'll just stay until the night is through. With everyone busy or gone I just got kinda lonely and you're the closest thing I have to a friend right now."

He chuckled slightly and she looked up at him. "Doesn't that make me feel special?" Brooke blushed slightly although Lucas didn't notice, the room too dark for him to pinpoint any specific features. "What about Haley?"

Brooke shrugged. "She's tutormom. She's got her own stuff going on. Plus it's been hard for her after the accident. I don't need to pile all my crap on her."

"I'm always here for you Brooke. Even though it may not seem like it..." He trailed off when he noticed Brooke grew uncomfortably silent. He thought he'd said something wrong and immediately began wondering what was going on inside the brunette's head.

"When I ws little, Peyton and I would always talk about what we wanted in the future. Our dreams were always so elaborate ya know? We'd both be living these big fancy lives but I always noticed that Peyton's was so much more... realistic than mine. In hers she was an artist. She did all these great things. Me, I just married rich." He listened to her words, not really sure where they had came from and why she was disclosing this information.

"Around the time Anna died, my dad had moved out and my parents had already started seeing divorce lawyers. I realized then that marrying rich did nothing. My fairy tale ended then. Ever since, I always just wished for a dream that would last. Whether it be in fashion or whether I worked a regular 9 to 5 job. I could have a family or I could be alone, I just want some security. Even now, that seems like too much. With everyone coming and going and college coming up, it seems like I'll never get that. Now I just want someone to lean on."

They're both quiet for a while, the glowing red numbers passing by slowly on the clock next to Lucas' bed. "People are around that care about you Brooke."

She shook her head. "Not like before. I can't talk to Peyton like before, or Haley for that matter. Rachel's gone and there are some girl problems Mouth just doesn't get."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! The last chapter did end abruptly and I'm sorry abotu this, I'm also sorry this chapter is pretty short. The next one will be longer and I may have to extend this to a four parter. Enjoy!

He is silent for a moment, still trying to decipher what her words meant. "What about me? I'm here for you Brooke." He looked down at her confused when he heard her scoff.

He was the last person she could talk to. She can't talk to Haley or Peyton for one reason only and that is because they are far to close to Lucas. Rachel always seemed to hate Lucas when she wasn't trying to get into his pants and Mouth... she wasn't sure if Mouth could really understand it all. Hell, she couldn't really understand it herself.

She let out a sigh and pushed the blankets off of her. "I'm going to go to the bathroom." She slipped out of the room, making her way through the dark house with expertise. She knew that it took her exactly 9 steps to get to the bathroom from her side of the bed, that if she walked too close to the walls that the floorboards would creek and that she had to flick the bathroom switch twice in order for the light to go- and stay- on.

She wondered if Peyton knew all this as she heard the door click shut behind her. Peyton wasn't a stranger to his house but she wasn't sure that Peyton had spent as much time in it as she had. After all, Brooke had lived there, lived in his room, ate dinner and breakfast with his mother. She sighed, shaking her arms to try and expel the thoughts from her head. She knew she sounded a bit jealous and she didn't want that. Lucas and Peyton were good for each other.

"Broody blondes forever." She muttered under her breath as she turned on the faucet, the cold water spilling into the porcelain bowl. The words sounded sarcastic, a reflection of how she really felt. Even though she said it, it didn't sit right with her. She didn't like that they were together and she didn't want them to stay together. That may make her seem like a horrible person but she didn't care. Because in the confines of that small bathroom, it was just her and she was done lying to herself.

She was done telling herself that it didn't hurt to break up with Lucas or to 'break up' with Peyton. That it didn't hurt like a bitch when she found Nick with her model. That it didn't hurt when Chase looked at her absolutely disgusted the night of that party at Nathan's. That it didn't hurt knowing that she had absolutely no family that cared about her. That she didn't think her whole life was a _complete fucking mess_.

She let out an aggravated sigh before she put her hands in the water so she could splash some on to her face. She looked up and into the mirror and she really knew she shouldn't be there. She was a different person, a very different person than she had been when she was last in that bathroom.

She turned off the water and tried to figure out what she wanted and what she should do. Those were two different things entirely.

She wanted to open the door and crawl back in bed with Lucas and just ask him to hold her. To help her forget, even if it were just for a night, what she had become. To help her forget the mess she made of her life. So she could live in her own little dream that she was still with Lucas and everything was completely perfect.

She should go back home but since she was petrified she should instead go into the living room and sleep on the couch. It was a smarter choice. She would still be in the same house with two people that really cared about her, but no boundaries would be crossed.

She looked at herself once more in the mirror, grabbing the hand towel to dry her face. She breathed out once more before opening the door. She stood in front of the bathroom door and dragged her eyes to his blank bedroom door. The light was shining through the crack beneath the door and she realized she had got him thinking when she went on her 'Please Save Me' ramble.

She turned away from the door, her eyes looking into the mass of darkness that enveloped the living room. She couldn't do that to Peyton and refused to ruin the new relationship they had formed. But, as she got into the doorway of the living room she heard his door open and a sea of light spread through the hallway.

"Where are you going?" She stopped mid step and felt herself cringe a little bit. She didn't want to have to explain to him why she was leaving his room.

She turned around slowly and shrugged a little. "I figured it'd be better if I slept on the couch."

He shook his head. "Why should you? There's enough room for the both of us in my bed." He could read her mind, the topic of the blonde artist always seemed to flash in big neon lights above Brooke's head. "PEyton won't mind. She slept in my bed when we were dating."

Brooke's face immediately drained of all life. That is _exactly_ what she wanted to hear. "And that's why," she started, talking a step away from him, "I'm sleeping on the couch."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! Thanks again for the reviews and I apologize on all these chapters being super short. There is going to be one more after this and you'll definatley get it tomorrow. This chapter was also influenced by 'I Try' by Macy Gray which of course is a great song. I hope y'all enjoy and HAPPY OTH WEDNESDAY!

He stood there, shocked by the words that had left her mouth, and watched as the darkness consumed her. He realized then, as he leaned into his door frame, that maybe he shouldn't have said that. The words replayed in his mind and to him, and most likely to her, it made their relationship sound like crap. Like it didn't mean anything and that the whole time he was thinking of Peyton.

He looked between his bed and the dark living room, not sure what he should do.

He wanted to go into the living room and talk with Brooke. Tell her that when he looked into her eyes now all he saw was loneliness and that made his heart hurt a little more. Tell her that it hurt him to watch Chase kiss her and then break her heart. That it hurt him to see her with Nathan in the video because in his mind he could never picture anyone but himself on top of Brooke. That all he really wanted to see her dimpled smile again, the smile that always came out when he'd kiss her forehead. That all he wanted to hear was her soft giggle that would escape her mouth when he'd lift her off the ground and hug her tight or the sweet extra raspy voice that fell from her luscious lips when she woke up in the morning.

He should go back into his room and turn off his light and go back to bed. He should call Peyton and tell her that he's thinking of her ( which would be a complete lie because for the past 5 hours the only thing he's thought or dreamt about is Brooke). That he should just forget that Brooke is in his living room and not be completely enveloped in the green apple shampoo smell that Brooke's brown locks have left on one side of his bed.

As quietly as she came into his room, he shut his bedroom door, the hallway becoming dark once more. He noticed that his foot steps seemed so much heavier than Brooke's as he followed her into the dark. It was completely quiet in the house when he came to a stop, the only thing he could hear was her light breathing. He ws amazed at just how fast she had fallen asleep.

"It's creepy when you watch people that you think are sleeping." He can't stop a smile from appearing on to his face when he heard her words. She doesn't sound scared which is a good thing considering a stalker attacked her a few days ago.

She sat up slowly, the rose colored blanket falling off her shoulders and down to her waist. She stretched her arms over her head, as if she'd been bunched up on to the couch for hours when in reality it'd only been about three minutes. She looked up at him casually and noticed that he was walking away from her and that got her thinking of the school shooting. If he hadn't walked away from her that day then maybe they'd still be together. Maybe if he hadn't walked away that day he'd still love her.

But as he turned of the small lamp in the corner of the room, she remembered that he never loved her, never with all his heart. "It's hard to keep my eyes off you Brooke."

He turned around to find a glare being sent his way. "Why do you _do_ that?" He frowned. He was complementing her and she got offended. He wanted to sigh but he knew that if he did she'd get even more mad. "You can't go around and say that to me."

"Why not?" She shook her head. _Clueless Clueless Lucas._

"You just can't. Did I like it when you told Peyton stuff like that when we were dating?"

He got a hard look on his face, and furrowed his brow, his eyes squinting down at her. "You aren't Peyton."

"No, as you have so _clearly_ pointed out over the past two fucking years, I'm NOT Peyton! I can guarantee you that **no** girl, including Peyton, wants to hear their boyfriend say that to another girl! But even if she is okay with you saying that to me, **I'm** not!" Brooke shouted, standing up and throwing the blanket to the end of the couch angrily. "And now you got me so worked up that I probably woke up your mom and she really should be sleeping since she isn't going to be getting a lot of it when you're sister is born."

He smiled a little bit once more, at the fact that Brooke worried so much about his mother. "Since when did compliments bother you?"

"Compliments don't bother me. Compliments from **you **bother me."

She kept surprising him. "You... you don't like my compliments?" He sounded kind of hurt and that was how he felt. It made it seem like she didn't love him anymore. Like she was done with him and that feeling made him want to die. He wanted to shout out that he did love her, that he never wanted her to leave.

"I love your compliments Lucas." She offered him a small smile and in the dimly lit room he can pin point each dimple. "And that's why I can't hear them." She glanced up at the face she loved so much. She moved eyes along his jaw line and then to his lips. From the lips that she longed to kiss, she moved her way up to his eyes, the baby blue eyes that stood out against his tan skin. She expected him to look confused but instead, all she saw was a look of relief.

She knew then that she had gotten in above her head and that she shouldn't have said anything and let him think that she was asleep. " I need to go." She shouldn't have come to the house and at this point she doesn't care that when she closed her eyes all she saw was Derek because now Lucas is scarier than Derek.

She tried to walk past him but he met her halfway and grabbed her arm. "Don't go." He pleaded, not wanting her to leave him, leave them tonight.

She tried to keep her eyes down on the ground but she had to look at him, if only to look into his eyes for the last **real** time. She tried to say goodbye but she chocked on the words, a 'gah' sound the only thing coming from her mouth. So instead, she glanced down at her arm and he followed her eyes, releasing her arm. She gave him a small smile once more and started to walk away from him, stumbling a little bit once she reached the hallway. She blamed it on the fact that it was dark, but she knew it was because he had touched her, he had gotten closer than he had in over a month and he still had the power to make her weak in the knees.

She made it into his room and quickly slipped into her flip flops, grabbing her keys from his night stand and turned off his light before making her way to the door she entered. She opened the door and was met with a pair of lips on hers.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks SOO much for the reviews! I'm so dissapointed with myself though, this was going to be the final part but I didn't have enough time to write the ending scene and I don't want to give you guys crap so there will be one more chapter posted tomorrow. I was torn between ending it before Honeygrove or going to HG like my original plan was. I decided to go during HG because I felt liek it would be strogner that way. ANyway, enough of my ramblings. Enjoy!

She knew who's lips they were as soon as the collided with hers. Her eyes closed automatically, and her arms went up and wrapped around his neck. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and pull her closer, pressing his shivering body against hers. He walked into the house, shutting the door behind him, before backing her up towards the bed.

She kept her eyes shut tight as his lips moved from hers and down to her neck because she knew if she opened them, she'd realize what she was doing and would stop. It'd been so long since he had touched her that she just needed to feel, just needed him to be inside her before she left him and Tree Hill behind.

His fingers were playing with the hem of her tank top and they both realized that his hands were shaking. It wasn't because he was cold it was because he was scared shitless at that moment. He wanted to be with Brooke, everything was telling him to be with here tonight but he was with Peyton, this was wrong. Brooke wasn't like this, Brooke wouldn't do that to Peyton or to herself.

Before he could move his hands back up into a safe region, because despite his little bout of knowledge, he wasn't ready to stop kissing her, he felt er hand move his out of the way. It was a flash of blue cotton and suddenly it was just her in front of him, save for the pants that adorned her lower half. HIs lips left her body so he could look at her, all of her.

She felt his eyes watching her so she opened them slowly, biting her bottom lip. "You're beautiful." he murmured softly before leaning down to kiss her swollen lips once more. The kiss he meat her with was hard and done with haste, this one more soft and gentle. It reminded her of the kiss they shared when they first slept together. He had been so nervous, so shy, so sweet. He had been gentle with her body, something she never really experienced before, he had told her that she was beautiful that night too. It made her feel like she was worthy, worthy of someone to love her, worthy enough to touch him.

She smiled against his lips, parting her lips, allowing him to escalate the kiss. All sense of time was lost, and some how they had gotten completely undressed. "Are you sure?" he asked gently, and she opened her eyes once more to look up into his. She nodded, her throat having closed up. If she spoke it'd ruin it and she wasn't ready for that. He smiled and kissed her softly once more. " I love you."

It came out even before he processed it. Her eyes shot open. "Excuse me?" No sound came from his mouth that was hanging open she realized that no matter how much she wanted it, excluding the fact that she was leaving when the school year ended, she couldn't do it.

"Get off me." She said harshly, pushing his body off of her. She stood up quickly, grabbing her clothing and putting it on. "This was a mistake. I should've never come here." She grabbed her keys once more, the keys she had dropped on the ground when she slid her arms around his neck.

"Don't go." he said for the second time that night except this time it wasn't enough to stop her.

* * *

Lucas laid half awake, half asleep next to Peyton who was lying next to Brooke. Peyton had returned home a day later and had explained that both Brooke and her were terrified to sleep alone and asked if they could sleep there.

Brooke had avoided his eyes the whole time, never looking at him for longer than two seconds. Truth was, she had gone to Peyton's, after spending that one night with Nathan and Haley, and asked if she could stay at Peyton's house. But, Peyton revealed that she too was scared and suggested that they go over to Luke's. It wasn't like she could say no, because then Peyton would ask her why and she'd have to make up some super lame excuse because she couldn't say that she nearly slept with Lucas while she was gone and she'd have to spend another night with crazy hormonal Haley, a grumpy Nathan, and a weird, yet sober, Deb.

He had to make it work with Peyton. He was filled with guilt, Brooke and himself going further than he and Peyton did junior year. He should have stopped it. Hell, he shouldn't have started it. He kissed her first, he lead her to the bed, he started taking off her shirt, he realized they shouldn't be doing what they were doing and he should have stopped.

So now, he's been acting even more lovey to Peyton, even though he can see that Brooke gets upset about it and always makes the excuse of going to help his mom. He let out a sigh as he felt Peyton turn away from him and he thought for a moment that maybe it was a sign. But then he realized that was stupid because there was no other sign telling him to be with Brooke and he knew for a fact that Peyton could never sleep on one side for too long.

* * *

They wound up in Honeygrove after getting Mouth's "NEED ASS" text message and Brooke found herself still strangely attached to Peyton. She felt guilty, horribly guilty and that's why she offered to curl Peyton's hair for her. To get a little way back to how they were. And, maybe if the guilt seemed to leave her body and anger bubble up inside her, she could let the iron 'slip' and 'accidentally' burn Peyton. But, she already knew that she wouldn't get angry because she felt like she should burn herself with the curling iron.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She tried to concentrate on the blonde lock in her hand, glancing up to look Peyton in the eye. She hadn't noticed how quiet she'd been until Peyton had said something.

"Oh, I'm not sure they're worth that much." She looked back down at the the curl, removing the iron and laying the lock down gently. "I was just thinking about Chase." The lie rolled off her tongue smoothly because she had only been thinking of Lucas. But, after the words escaped her mouth, she did think of Chase. Chase broke up with her because she slept with Nathan. It was ironic because that was no where near as worse as what she did last week.

"I'm really sorry Brooke." '_If she only knew.'_ Brooke thought, grabbing another cluster of hair in her hand. "Do you miss him?"

She looked up and into Peyton's eyes and found herself nodding. "Yeah. I do." '_Do not.'_ She breathed in before continuing, moving the subject off of Chase. "Plus I'm not really a big fan of being alone these days."

"Oh well... I was wondering if you could move in with me?" Peyton asked, sounding a little congested. Brooke noted in her head to get the blonde nasal spray or else she wouldn't be able to sleep later.

"I can't. I'm moving back into the apartment."

She noticed Peyton's face falter, and then immediately try to cover it up by saying "Oh, okay cool. I just... yeah." She laughed a little, closing her eyes tight for a moment before opening them and placing a smile on her face.

"But maybe," she paused for a moment, not sure if she was ready to offer this, "you could move in to?" She questioned herself as she said it.

But the look on Peyton's face made all questioning go away because she knew that the offer made her friend happy and that's all Brooke wanted at this point. "You mean that?" Her voice is hopeful like that of a child.

Brooke stopped to think for a moment, needing to figure out now if she meant it. "Yeah." she said with a small smile. Peyton nodded, her smile taking up most of the room on her face. She turned around quickly and looked up at Brooke with big eyes. "Look, I know I said we could never be friends like before." She sat the curling iron down as Peyton's smile faded and Brooke realized she needed to make it up to her.

"But, maybe we could be better." she said with a small shrug. Peyton's smile returned and Brooke knew she did good. She needed to say it then because then everything was behind them. Everything Lucas and Peyton did behind Brooke's back and everything Brooke did behind Peyton's. It didn't matter anymore. "You look beautiful." She held Peyton's cheek in her hand, saying what Lucas had said to her because Peyton was the one who should've received it.

Peyton leaned forward and hugged her tight by the waist and Brooke ran her hand up and down Peyton's back, resting her chin on top of Peyton's head. A small smile only stayed on Brooke's lips for a brief moment, the guilt catching back up with her.


	5. Chapter 5

So I FINALLY have this done! I thought I was going to ge tit up a lot quicker but I wasn't happy with the ending and then I wasn't happy with the Brooke/Chris scene so I did quite a few rewrties. Anyway, I'd like to thank all of you for your awesome reviews and I hope this meets all of your expectations. As Mark would say, 'thank you for takign this journey with me.' lol. Enjoy!

"_Brooke?" She had ignored him the whole trip, prom being no exception._

"_Talk to your girlfriend." She said casually over her shoulder, pulling her dress down a little further, it having ridden up as she tried to make her quick escape from Lucas._

"_So we're never going to talk about that night?" He found himself a little bit angry that she was refusing to talk to him even though he knew she had every right to._

"_That night, never happened." She stopped at the punch table, grabbing a cup and slipping it under the blue stream._

"_But, I said that I-." _

_She dropped her glass and spun around quickly. "Don't you dare say it! You had no right to say it that night and you have no right to say it now. Not while you're with her." She said angrily, pointing her perfectly manicured finger at him._

"_But I meant it Brooke. I still mean it." He glanced around, looking for Peyton and noticed that she was busy talking to one of the locals._

_Brooke followed his eyes and Peyton looked over at the both of them and Brooke offered a small wave. "If that were the case," she started, turning back towards the blonde in front of her, "then you would have already broken up with her. And if you're staying with her because you're afraid to let her go after the Derek thing then you're an asshole." She shook her head and started walking away from him. "I don't have feelings for you, and you do not have feelings for me."_

And that's how he ended up there. Lying next to Peyton, covered in sweat and a sheet. He took Peyton up on her offer to spite Brooke even though it was probably only proving her right. He was actually surprised that Peyton didn't notice his change in behavior. The whole time he seemed impatient, Peyton always stopping him with words. He had to sleep with her, just to get Brooke out of his mind. Maybe let her go, and just really **love** Peyton then.

No such luck.

He looked over at Peyton who has a huge smile on her face and he suddenly felt even more guilty than before. Then the room is filled with light laughter and he can detect instantly the soft giggle from the brunette he loved. "Damn I've got to stop doin' this." Both Lucas and Peyton's eyes were drawn tot he door, Peyton's head immediately ducking under the sheet.

He isn't sure if she noticed how Brooke's face completely fell, a smile gracing it one minute, a sad expression the next. Her mouth hung open a bit and she turned away, taking her eyes out of the room and placing them on Mouth. Skillz shut the door quickly, feeling bad for Brooke already. She shouldn't have seen that. They'd spent a lot of time together during the trip, and it became apparent to him that she wasn't over Lucas, not by far.

She knew they were together. She'd witnessed them kissing and hugging and holding hands under the table and of course smiling at each other goofily. But that? Seeing them laying in bed together covered in sweat was the worst feeling she'd ever felt. She felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach and somebody squirted juice in her eyes. The worst part was that now when she closed her eyes, all she saw was Peyton's curls, the ones she had curled, ruined and Peyton smiling and her hand cupping Lucas' cheek, the smallest of smiles on his face.

"That was uncomfortable." Mouth said, Skillz coming up next to him.

"Uh, you know what guys? I think I'm going to take a walk." She stumbled on her words due to the fact that she's trying with all her might not to throw up.

"You sure? You've been drinking." Skillz sounded genuinely worried and for that alone Brooke placed a fake smile on to her face.

"Trust me, I'm sober now." She laughed a little before turning around, hoping that she kept the smile on long enough to convince them that she was okay.

But, her smile faltered before she turned away completely and Mouth noticed. They turned to look at each other, both knowing that everything was completely screwed up and that Brooke didn't need that, not at all. Mouth shook his head sadly as he watched Brooke walk away slowly, wrapping her jacket tighter around her body. "She's definatly not okay." Mouth muttered sadly.

* * *

Brooke made her way down the tar paved street, coming up along Chris Keller's tour bus. He was sitting rather pathetic looking outside the bus and she stopped in front of him, waiting or one of his clever lines. "Well well, took ya long enough."

She fought the urge to scoff but realized that if she did, it'd make her a hypocrite. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Want to come inside?" He asked, glancing at the large bus next to him. "I get really good looking after a couple of drinks."

She rocked back and forth a little on her heels, shaking her head just slightly. "Oh, but I've already had a few drinks." The way she was speaking, she already knew that she was going to get on that bus with him because Lucas hated Chris and sleeping with Chris would hurt Lucas once more.

"And how do I look? As good as the last time I got you wasted?"

She sighed a little, looking down at the man in the ridiculous purple suit. "Listen, my last couple relationships have been screwed up big time," '_Every one of my relationships have been screwed up.'_ "And I also have a terrible fear of being alone. So if we slept together, it would just mean that I'm drunk and trying to kill the pain. It wouldn't have _anything_ to do with you." She laid out the ground rules, just like she always did before having casual sex.

"Works for me." He said happily, getting up from his seat.

He was too far away to hear anything but he noticed as she walked up the steps of the bus, she looked back at Chris and had the rem nets of a small smile on her face. She was going to sleep with him... again. The image of Brooke lying in bed with Chris on her maroon colored sheets and that bastard's arm lying over her stomach came into mind. That was something that was permanently etched into his mind whether he wanted it to be or not.

"What are you looking at?" Peyton asked from the bed, playing with one of her tousled curls.

He turned and looked at her, his sad expression, his hallowed eyes. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She sat up, wrapping the sheet around her chest, preparing herself for what was to come.

"For tonight. I shouldn't have taken you up on the offer." He glanced back to the bus, the door now closed and a light on. _He_ was probably on top of her now.

"What do you mean?" Her voice was shaky and she got up from the bed to stand in front of him.

"I can't love you like I love her." he whispered, looking down, not being man enough to look her straight in the eye and say it. "I'm not **in** love with you." He looked up a minute later to find her face soaked with tears. "Peyton don't cry."

"I should be allowed to fucking cry Lucas." she said bitterly, pulling some of the sheet up to her face in order to dry her face. "You slept with me and now you're breaking up with me for _her_." She laughed a little and walked back to the bed, her head resting in her hands. "Of course you love her though. It's not like I got you 'fairly'."

"What do you mean?"

"Brooke broke up with you after I told her that I still loved you. She broke up with you because of me no matter what she told you." There it was. There was the truth. Neither one had told him what had happened the night before the wedding and after a while he had just kind of accepted that he wouldn't know. It all made sense now though. Why Brooke had acted the way she had, why both refused to bring it up.

* * *

When Peyton and him were done talking, he decided to go for a walk in the town square and try to clear his head. Brooke didn't want him and Peyton didn't want him. He certainly had a knack for relationships. He spotted the dark haired girl sitting in the gazebo, looking at the town around her.

He approached her slowly, not quite sure if he wanted to talk to her. "I thought I told you it was creepy to watch people you think aren't paying attention." She'd felt him behind her almost the whole time, she always had a sort of sixth sense for him.

"So, how was Keller?" It sounded worse out loud than it did in his head.

"What's it to you?" She asked, turing her body to look at him.

He shrugged. He couldn't look at her, not in the eye. Instead he kept his gaze either on the ground or at Chris' tour bus. He nodded towards the bus where the light had just turned off. "I always figured he'd fall asleep right after he was done."

She scoffed. "What makes you so damn sure I slept with Chris?"

He looked over at her then, a confused look on his face. That seemed to be all he was now: confused. He didn't know right from wrong, up from down, blonde from brunette. "You..."

"I didn't sleep with him. I'm growing up Lucas. I'm not Brooke Davis: head slut anymore." She stared at him as she said this, trying to burn the words into his skin. "We're graduating soon. We're becoming adults and I don't want to be that person. Let's face it Luke, the choices we make now are what shape us. I don't want to be that 30 year old who's still at the club going from hook up to hook up. I want a family. I want more than just sex."

He actually picked up on what she was trying to say. She was telling him to choose. Choose her or Peyton. He needed to stop being so childish and flip-flopping. He couldn't keep doing it to them because despite their love for him, he knew they wouldn't wait around forever. Brooke longed to have what she was never given, a family. He knew Peyton wanted that too, he saw how much it hurt her when Jenny and Jake left. With him going between each girl, he could never give them that. There would always be the other in the back of his mind and that wouldn't be fair to the three of them, let alone a child.

It was quite for a long time between them. He didn't know what to say and she had nothing left to say to him. She sighed and stood up, pulling her dress down a little. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have slept with Peyton." He couldn't look at her, not in the eye. He kept his gaze either on the ground or at Chris' tour bus.

"Why are you apologizing for sleeping with your girlfriend?" She asked with a raised brow. She chose not to look at him then either, instead choosing to take in her surroundings.

"Ex." He said before clearing his throat, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. She took her eyes off of the big sign that had welcomed them to Honeygrove and placed them on the brooding blonde. "I broke up with her when you went in with him." He looked over at her, letting her know he chose, that he chose her.

She turned away from him, walking towards the steps on the gazebo, her heels hitting the wooden floor heavily. She wasn't just going to hand herself over to him. She was happy as hell, but that didn't mean shit. "You seem to think I care."

"Oh, I know you care." He said confidently, walking towards her. He was so close she could feel his breath on the back of her neck and shivered a little involuntary. "Otherwise you wouldn't have turned away."

She sighed, letting her shoulders drop. She turned around to look at him, realizing he was incredibly close to her. "Fine, I care. But it doesn't change anything between us." She put her hand against his chest as a way to keep space between them. "You gave up on us."

"If I'm not mistaken, you broke up with me." Lucas said, placing his hand on hers, the digit of his thumb rubbing her hand softly, outlining the plain silver ring that laid on her middle finger.

"And you didn't fight for me. You gave up so easily! Was I just not worth it anymore?" Her voice is soft but her words are angry. "You stood in front of me at that party and told the world that you weren't the guy for me. I cried myself to sleep for weeks after that night Lucas! You were so noble and such a gentleman and then you became this different person. You turned in to every other jackass guy I knew." Her eyes filled with tears and her voice is she shaky. She had to stop and take in a deep breath so that the tears wouldn't fall. "I saw a guy I once knew, a guy you swore you wouldn't become again. You reminded me of the Luke that _didn't_ give a rat's ass about me."

He pulled her closer to him, her head resting on her chest. The girl he loved was so broken and it was his fault. He beat her down, made her doubt his undeniable feelings for her. "God, you didn't even stop me from leaving your room when I broke up with you!" She mumbled into his chest. He took a step back and Brooke looked up at him with clouded eyes.

"I'm a dumbass. I have screwed up a lot when it comes to you Brooke. For a long period of time, I did think that I was in love with Peyton, but all the while I still loved you. That was one thing that never changed Brooke. I have never fallen the littlest out of love with you."

And just like that she crumbled, she broke down crying. She wanted to wait longer becuase he had hurt her so much and those few short sentences didn't seem like they should be enough. But he's broken up with her and he's trying and she didn't want to wait any longer. She couldn't wait any longer. "I hate you Lucas Scott." She buried her head in his chest once more and he stroked her back.

"I love you too." He replied with a smirk and she started laughing. She lifted her head up from his chest and looked at him, a dimpled smile on her face. "God I've missed that smile."

Her smile got wider, something that he didn't think was possible and she tilted her head up at him, whispering an "I love you" before placing her lips securely on his.


End file.
